"Gullachsen's attention to detail, analysis, and honest appraisal of controversial aspects of this combat are all to be commended." — Globe at War
South of the Norman city of Caen, Verrières Ridge was seen a key stepping-stone for the British Second Army if it was to break out of the Normandy bridgehead in late July 1944. Imposing in height and containing perfect terrain for armored operations, the Germans viewed it as the lynchpin to their defenses south of the city of Caen and east of the Orne river.
Following the failure of British Operation Goodwood on 18–20 July and the containment of the Canadian Operation Atlantic, further Allied attacks to seize the ridge would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: The I. SS-Panzerkorps ‘Leibstandarte.’ In the second volume of this two-volume work, the fighting of 23 July–3 August is chronicled in detail, specifically the premier Anglo-Canadian operation to capture Verrières Ridge, Operation Spring on 25 July. Designed as an attack to seize the ridge and exploit south with armor, this battle saw the 2nd Canadian Corps attack savaged again by German armored reserves brought in specifically to defeat another Goodwood.
Not satisfied with this defensive victory, German armored forces would then seek to restore an earlier defensive line further north, attacking to destroy the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. Largely unknown, these were some of the strongest and most successful German armored operations to take place in the Normandy campaign.
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Guide to the battle map unit abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1: The I. SS-Pz.Korps in the line, 23 July 1944
Chapter 2: The fall of Etavaux, 22-23 July 1944
Chapter 3: The reinforcement of the I. SS-Panzerkorps and the Allied preparations for Operation Spring, 23-24 July 1944
Chapter 4: Operation Spring: May-sur-Orne, 25 July 1944
Chapter 5: Operation Spring: Verrières, 25 July 1944
Chapter 6: Operation Spring: Tilly-la-Campagne, 25 July 1944
Chapter 7: Events to the west: Operation Cobra, 25-26 July 1944
Chapter 8: 25-27 July 1944: The attacks of the Hohenstaufen
Chapter 9: Minor combat, 28-30 July 1944
Chapter 10: The defeat of the Calgary Highlanders, Tilly-la-Campagne, 31 July -1 August 1944
Chapter 11: The defeat of the Lincolns, Tilly-la-Campagne, 1-2 August 1944
Chapter 12: Further attacks on May, Tilly and La Hogue, 5 August, 1944
Chapter 13: 6 August and beyond: The weakening of the I. SS-Pz.Korps
Conclusion: Reassessment
Appendices
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index
Captain Arthur W. Gullachsen is the author of three previous books, as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a professor in the RMC History Department at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. After joining the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in late 2006, he gained acceptance into the PhD program in history at Western University in London, Ontario, graduating in 2016. A Second World War specialist, Captain Gullachsen’s areas of expertise include the study of the replacement of equipment and personnel losses as well as German armored forces during the late war period. He is also interested in twentieth-century airpower and seapower. He recently published Bloody Verrières, Volumes I and II with Casemate Publishers (2022 and 2023).
